Big Fat Mama Network - Funny As Hell & A Whole Lot of Awesome

I begin with a story. Sketch comedy and homelessness. A combination not suitable for the
Vancouver East side. (In my best Al Pacino voice.) “Yah, funny.” Granted, I feel that way because I had a short interaction with a homeless person out in front of the theatre just prior to the show.

“Hey, can you spare some change?” She said in a slightly cracked voice.

“I have a dime I don’t need for parking.” I handed her the pittance.

“Thanks, man. Saved me.” She said and walked off.

It wasn’t a unique experience. This is Vancouver after all. But, once the Big Fat Mama Show
began, within the first fifteen minutes two sketches poked fun at homelessness. The guilt set in.
Ah, the guilt. A dime? Really? A dime was all I could spare?

“But, you know, they are just going to buy drugs with it.” My inner voice offered.

“Ah, but how do we really know that? Just because they were homeless?” I thought.

“How do you know they were homeless?” My voice responded.

I suppose I am being terribly analytical of a comedy show but I couldn’t ignore the connection. Do
we really have a responsibility to be sensitive especially in such close proximity to Canada’s
most famous of postal codes? At some level, I think we do. At another, is comedy supposed to
follow such rules? Can it? What would Gilbert Gottfried think? Fuck ‘em, he’d say. Another
girlfriend will be floating by any moment.

(Am I the only one who thinks of this kind of stuff? Probably. A debate for another time. But on
with the show.)

Big Fat Mama’s Network is a comedy show featuring a series of sketches loosely based around
a fictional television network. Big Fat Mama (Julia Church) rocks the beginning of the show with a
high energy pseudodance number (albeit sitting down in a motorized wheelchair) with lights,
sounds, and singing… and a dead chicken. Not necessarily in that order. It set the tone of the
show and must be seen to be believed.

Who is this Big Mama? She is a blunt and brutal woman who runs a television station. Her late
husband left it to her and he hopes that she will fulfill his “big dream”. What is the “big dream”? I
can’t rightly say as it was unclear if the dream was his or hers or if the dream was just a sham to
stay in business!. But, who cares! It is fun to watch them try!

In her quest to create original programming, we are introduced to her crack team of misfits and
talented crazies: Hector (Chris Nash), Collette (Jenni Raine), and Mallory (Holly Pillsbury). Hector
is the station janitor, and illegal Mexican worker. He also has a talent for singing and dancing.
Collette is the company gopher and enjoys to tell the odd (and quite terrible) joke and is able to
pull “cute” from her back pocket at the drop of a hat. While Mallory is the hired fitness instructor
for Big Mama and general misanthrope at the station. As a collective of characters, they each
have their own unique strengths and balance each other out nicely.

Throughout the show, we are treated to sketch after sketch, all formatted to fit with the television
format. Talk shows, news programs, cooking shows, and some reality television from
touching moments to manic extremes. The show could easily have suffered from a disjointed collection of sketches mashed together just “because they were written”. (I have seen it happen.) But I am
happy to report that the show has too talented a group to fall into such traps. The performers
work well together and are quite obviously fond of each other. It is that kind of chemistry that is
hard to fake… unless they are far more talented than I believe them to be. Cunning.

The highlight for me (and what I consider to be the glue that holds the show together) is the
moments when each individual character gets show off some of their individual talents and relate
their story to the audience and how they all wound up in Big Mama’s clutches. I enjoyed the
interludes for each of them because it solidified the format of the show.

“Come on, shut up…” Hector repeats several times.

If you have seen the sketch films Amazon Women on the Moon or Kentucky Fried Movie, you’ll
have a pretty good idea of what this show is like. It was uproariously funny, absolutely ridiculous,
and the entire cast oozed with talent. If you miss this show, you’re missing a lot. Sketch comedy
can work or it can burn out without so much as a giggle. This show has the audience laughing
out loud and clapping almost continuously. How could they not? They have enough talent for their
own real television show.

I can’t wait to see these guys work their magic again. I may be a little weird about the homeless
thing but, hey, that’s what makes me… well, me.